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Rams quarterback Jared Goff is among the NFL leaders in several passing categories this season, but had a rough outing in last week’s victory over the Detroit Lions. He faces an imposing Bears defense on Sunday, Dec. 9 at Chicago. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

THOUSAND OAKS – The Gloved One – Jared Goff, not Michael Jackson – might be making an appearance in Chicago, one week after a performance that certainly did not seem worthy of an encore.

Based on the standards he has set this season, with stellar overall play, Goff looked strikingly bad in last Sunday’s victory at Detroit, as he completed 17 of 33 attempts for 205 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Now, Goff must prepare for a tenacious Chicago opponent and challenging elements.

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Goff must contend not only with Bears linebacker Khalil Mack but with temperatures that likely will drop into the low 20s for a Sunday-night game. Goff will try to heat up after last week’s tepid performance.

“Many reasons,” Goff said Wednesday when asked about the Rams’ offensive struggles. “Many reasons, and something that I’ll look to improve on (is) to try to keep taking care of the ball. That’s something that I really looked at myself at, and I need to do a better job of that, get better and move on.”

It’s probably fair to toss out Goff’s game against Detroit, even with some surprising miscues, which included a way-off interception, plus two other near-interceptions in the fourth quarter, and a fumble. The Rams looked out of sync after their bye, and the Lions’ defense didn’t get enough credit for a solid game.

The Rams, thanks in large part to Aaron Donald, claimed a 30-16 victory, but twice, on consecutive plays in the fourth quarter, Lions defenders got their hands on passes that would have been easy pick-six plays. Goff rarely looked comfortable in the pocket and had his lowest yards-per-attempt average (6.27) of the season, as well as his second-lowest quarterback rating (68.6).

“I think he did a good job of making plays when he had to make them,” pass-game coordinator Shane Waldron said. “Obviously there were a couple throws he might want to take back, but it’s a tough position, where those split-second decisions are made every game. His ability to stay and collected when things don’t go perfectly during the game, that has such a positive effect on the rest of our offense and the rest of our team.”

Coach Sean McVay also pointed out that Goff audibled out of some pass plays that led to big Todd Gurley runs. So the issue going forward is not Goff’s ability to bounce back. His personality and the Rams’ solid coaching make that easy. It’s those freezing temperatures that could be problematic.

Goff’s other truly poor game this season was the Rams’ narrow Oct. 14 victory at Denver. It snowed lightly before the game, and kickoff temperature was 25 degrees, with a wind chill of 18.

Goff, a Northern California native long accustomed to warm-weather games, (quite reasonably) wore gloves during the game and completed 14 of 28 attempts for 201 yards and one interception. It was Goff’s only game this season without a touchdown pass, with season-lows in yards and completion percentage.

In a recent social-media question-and-answer session, Goff said the Broncos’ defense was the toughest to dissect that he has faced this season, so perhaps his struggles weren’t entirely related to weather.

The Rams put that game in the hands of Gurley, who rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns, but now the Rams face a Bears defense that allows only 3.7 yards per carry (second-best in the NFL).

Goff, presumably, will need to make some plays against the Bears, even if it’s freezing, and even in the Sahara desert, he wouldn’t have an easy time with Mack, the 2016 NFL defensive player of the year. The Rams were scheduled to face Mack in the season opener, but a few days before, Oakland traded him to Chicago.

“He’s a great player. Obviously, been great for a long time,” Goff said. “It’ll be fun. I’m excited to get the chance to compete against him. He’s a great player and it’ll be a good challenge for us, but we’re ready.”

Mack has nine sacks, which ranks fifth among NFL linebackers this season, and the bigger issue for Goff is that Mack has forced five fumbles, second only to Kansas City’s Dee Ford (with six).

Ball security seems to be an increasing issue for Goff. In his first 10 games this season, Goff fumbled four times but didn’t lose any of them. Last week against Detroit, he suffered a strip-sack fumble that the Lions recovered, and in his previous game against Kansas City, Goff lost two fumbles.

“At times, stuff may slip up through the season,” Goff said. “You may get, I don’t know if lazy is the right word, but you just kind of forget about some things. It’s just making sure you’re conscious of it and thinking of it at all times. Just getting stuff at practice, working on it and just always thinking about it.”

Overall, though, it’s been a stellar season for Goff, who ranks fourth with 3,754 yards, sixth with 27 touchdowns and has thrown only seven interceptions in 414 attempts. With another 51 yards and two touchdowns, he will surpass his totals from 2017, when he made the Pro Bowl.

BROWN OUT

Backup running back Malcolm Brown underwent a procedure to reset his clavicle and is expected to be placed on the injured-reserve list and miss the rest of this season, McVay said. Brown had 212 rushing yards and 52 receiving yards this season, and also played a valuable role on special teams.

The Rams will look to Justin Davis and John Kelly as Brown’s replacements. Davis, a second-year back from USC, has been active for eight games this season but only has played on special teams. Kelly, a rookie sixth-round pick, played well in the preseason but has yet to appear in a regular-season game. McVay said playing time would depend “on situations and how the week of practice goes.”

“When (Davis) puts his foot in the ground, you feel his acceleration and his ability to create the big plays,” McVay said. “He’s getting more and more comfortable with our protection schemes. I think he catches the ball well out of the backfield. I think he really has developed into a complete back.”

McVay described Kelly as a “downhill, physical runner, but definitely has the speed to get to the second and third levels and make those big plays. … He has continued to get better and better.”

The Rams held only a walk-through practice Wednesday at Cal Lutheran, and McVay said they had no other injury issues.

Rich Hammond was a high school senior when the Rams left town in 1995, and now he's their beat writer for the Southern California News Group. A native of L.A., Rich broke in at the Daily Breeze as a college freshman and also has covered USC, the Kings, the Lakers and the Dodgers. He still loves sports and telling stories. Don't take the sarcastic tweets too seriously.